Towards the end of the story Winston seems to hold onto hope that Golstein’s revolution is alive, and is even willing to join the cause. It offers the reader a sense of hope alongside Winston, suggesting that there may be a chance at changing the world even if it does not happen until much farther in the future. However, 1984 does not let this bit of optimism survive for very long. Winston is captured and conditioned by O’Brien, who slowly destroys Winston’s individual thought and reveals that Goldstein’s revolution may not even be real:
“’Goldstein and his heresies will live for ever. Every day, at every moment, they will be defeated, discredited, ridiculed, spat upon and yet they will always survive. This drama that I have played out with you during seven years will be played out over and over again generation after generation, always in subtler forms. Always we shall have the heretic here at our mercy, screaming with pain, broken up, contemptible—and in the end utterly penitent, saved from himself, crawling to our feet of his own accord’” (Orwell 338).
O’Brien succeeds in breaking Winston by imposing his worst fear. Up until this point, Winston has held onto Julia and kept her ‘safe’ by not giving her up. It is this moment in which he forsakes the one thing he has been clinging to, and this is what ultimately ends Winston’s resolve. He is forged to fit the image of the Party, and assimilates into society the way they want him to. This ending solidifies 1984 as a cautionary tale as to how society can become, and how it can utilize power to keep people in check. As O’Brien says, “’Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever’” (Orwell 337). It is a very depressing, and yet realistic message shows why we should care about the goings-on around us, and must be aware of the people who wish to be in power. They do not have others’ best interests at heart.